I. Background

On May 2, 2025, the Council of Ministers published a Decision [1] on its official website (pris.government.bg) adopting a new "Program for Humanitarian Support and Integration of Displaced Persons from Ukraine with Granted Temporary Protection" (hereinafter referred to as "the Decision" or "the Program"), pursuant to Art. 2, Para. 2 of the Law on Asylum and Refugees.

The Program entered into force on May 1, 2025. Under the new Program, displaced persons from Ukraine granted temporary protection after February 24, 2022, who do not fall into a "risk group," may benefit from the Program once for a period of up to 60 calendar days. The Program specifies the criteria for a person to be classified as belonging to a risk group, which entitles them to accommodation for the entire duration of the temporary protection period until March 4, 2026.

Following the adoption of the Program, thousands of Ukrainians with temporary protection in the country faced numerous difficulties—both in applying for the new Program and, primarily, regarding the duration of their stay and whether they qualified for the "risk group."

In its article "Divided Families and Denied Shelter: Who Remains Outside the New Humanitarian Support Program?", the Foundation for Access to Rights (FAR) highlighted the problematic provisions of the Program, particularly regarding the most vulnerable—children. A crucial step in protecting the rights and interests of persons with temporary protection was the judicial appeal against the Council of Ministers' Decision, filed by affected individuals supported by legal aid and representation from FAR.

II. Court Decision

As a result of this appeal, on February 19, 2026, the Supreme Administrative Court issued a Judgement [2] annulling the Decision of the Council of Ministers in the part concerning which children fall into the "risk group." The Court found that the contested provisions regarding children and families with children contradict national and European law, including the national definition of vulnerable persons and international binding standards for the rights of the child.

The Supreme Court held that:

"Section V, point 5.1, letter 'a' of the Program defines a category of persons in the risk group as: a child aged 0 to 12 years, accompanied by one parent or another adult caring for the child by virtue of a power of attorney. This category is in direct contradiction with the definition provided in §1, item 17 of the Additional Provisions of the Law on Asylum and Refugees. There is a narrowing of the scope of persons who should fall into a risk group... Furthermore, the requirement that the child be accompanied by only one parent or another adult violates the fundamental principle of family unity."

The Court further noted that under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the right to family life is a fundamental human right. The state is duty-bound to ensure this protection, as interfering with the child-parent bond can lead to irreversible consequences for the psychological well-being of both the child and the parents.

Note: This Judgement of the Supreme Administrative Court is not final and is currently subject to appeal before an expanded panel (five-judge bench) of the Supreme Administrative Court.

III. Significance

This is a strategic victory not only for the petitioners—including parents and minors—but for all displaced families in Bulgaria facing legal and administrative hurdles in accessing support.

The ruling has significant implications for the implementation of policies for displaced persons:

• Restores the rights of a significant number of families with children who were previously excluded from the Program.
• Emphasizes that support conditions cannot restrict access based on formal age or educational criteria that create inequality.
• Reaffirms that the protection of children and the right to family life must be the guiding principles in designing social and integration programs.

This Judgement marks a major step forward in upholding the rights of persons under temporary protection and underscores the role of NGOs as effective legal intermediaries and defenders of civil rights.

[1]  https://pris.government.bg/document/6d69bf743388f6a39ebd340a91111fb6 

[2] https://info-adc.justice.bg/courts/portal/edis.nsf/e_act.xsp?id=2597351&code=vas&guid=1297780429